Lance never realized how much work went into planning a wedding, even a small wedding. He and Laura decided to set the wedding date for December 22nd, a month after their engagement. They wanted to be married before Laura began to show more than just a little. The ceremony was to take place in the garden of Lance’s Mississippi home. He let Laura make most of the decisions; it was just easier with him having to travel so much. She would call him every couple of days to give him updates and ask his opinion. She wanted to make sure Lance felt like he was apart of the planning too.

"I finally found a caterer," Laura said with a sigh of relief. "It wasn’t easy on such short notice and with all of the holiday parities coming up."

"That’s great," Lance cradled the phone between his ear and shoulder. "We should be wrapping everything up in a day or so."

"When are you coming back to Mississippi?" Laura asked.

"We have a charity event in Orlando in a couple of days as soon as that is over I’m driving home."

"We should have everything done by the time you get here on Wednesday then. Your mom has been such a big help. It has stopped her from buying something new for the baby everyday. At this rate the baby is going to need an extra bedroom just from all the stuff from our parents."

"That sounds like my mother," Lance laughed. "The uncles aren’t any better. Justin has already bought three pair of baby sneakers and JC wants to know how long he has to wait to buy a leap pad."

"We aren’t going to have to worry about our child be spoiled, are we." Laura said sarcastically.

"What makes you think that." Lance joked. "I gotta go they are calling me back to the set."

"Okay, take care."

"You too, bye" With that Lance hung up his cell phone.

Lance was amazed when he returned home to find that Laura and both of their mothers had finalized all of the wedding plans. The only things left to do was for Lance to get fitted for his tux and Laura’s final fitting on her dress, which Lance wasn’t allowed to go any near. He was told about the old wives tails, which said it would bring bad luck to the marriage, if he saw the dress before the ceremony.

While Laura was off doing things he couldn’t know about until the wedding Lance finished his Christmas shopping and worked on Freelance and A Happy Place business. As he looked over paperwork, his mind started to wonder about how is life was going to change once he was married. There would probably a few less Hollywood parties, especially after the baby was born. Lance had never been a selfish person, but he knew what he wanted from life and went after those things. Soon there was going to be two more people to consider in the equation and that frightened him.

The wedding was in just over a week and Lance was questioning his feelings for Laura. He knew he was only having these second thoughts because he was nervous. It’s just cold feet, he thought, everyone goes through this before they get married. It didn’t mean that he was not doing the right thing.

That night Joey was having his annual Christmas bash at his house. Lance and Laura smiled at all of the well- wishes. Lance thought his face was going to fall off from smiling so much.

Laura walked towards the kitchen to refill her glass when she overheard Joey and Chris talking. Their words stopped her in her tracks. "I can't believe she got him to agree to marry her," Chris said with disgust in his voice.

Joey shook his head "I know, she's doesn't even love him. She's just looking for a free ride."

"I'm sure she planned this out. She knew Lance would marry her if she got pregnant."

"I never thought Lance would be so stupid. Always has to 'do the right thing,' even if it is headed for disaster, big time. At least Kelly and I love each other."

"You know Lance and his Southern values, he wouldn't do anything but marry her."

"Do you know how many times I tried to warn him about her? I knew she was up to something."

"I know, how many girls really want to be only fuck buddies? None that I know."

"Exactly. It's never just about sex for women. It's either love, or an anterior motive."

Hearing those words Laura turned to leave the room. The tears were welling up in her eye, but she wasn't going to let them see her cry. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction. Laura just wanted out of that house; she pushed her way through the crowd heading for the front door.

Lance was just turning away from Justin and Britney when someone ran right into him. He turned to see Laura. "Laura? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I've just got to get out of here, Lance. I can't stay any longer." her tears becoming more difficult to control.

"Why? Laura . . . What happened? Why are you crying?"

She was having trouble controlling her voice. "I just can't stay where I'm not welcomed."

"What?" Lance took Laura by the hand and walked her to one of the empty bedrooms shutting the door behind him. "Talk to me, please."

She sobbed against his shoulder. "I'm sorry Lance. I wasn't trying to trap you," she said as she started to hiccup. "I would have raised this baby by myself."

Lance was confused. He thought they had already covered this. "Laura, I never said you were trying to trap me. Where is this coming from?"

"I....I....overheard Joey and Chris talking in the kitchen. They think I got pregnant just to get you to marry me." She looked him straight in the eyes. "I promise I didn't, Lance. I promise."

He put his hand behind her head, gently pushing it against his chest. "Shhhhh, I know." He said as he rubbed her back, trying to calm her. He felt the blood boiling through his veins. Chris and Joey were supposed to be two of his best friends. He even asked Joey to be the best man at his wedding. "Will you wait here, for just a minute? Then I promise, I will take you home."

"Okay," she sniffled as she lay down on the bed.

Lance left the room and went looking for Joey and Chris. He was becoming angrier with each step he took. He headed in the direction of the kitchen. Both Joey and Chris were still standing with drinks in hand.

Lance walked up to them "What the hell is the matter with the two of you?"

"What?" they both questioned with bewildered looks on their faces.

"Don't even try to act innocent. I know what you said about Laura, she overheard you two talking in here a few minutes ago."

"Lance, you know we're only looking out for your best interest, " Joey replied.

"Yeah, she's a gold digger. Laura's worst than Bobbie, at least she didn't try getting pregnant."

"Neither of you have the first clue who Laura is." He glared at Chris "And comparing her to Bobbie, that's lower than low."

"You've been in this business long enough to know that some girls will do anything to catch a star," Chris said before taking a drink of his beer. "Just because she's from your hometown doesn't mean she can't be a gold digger.

"You don't know shit, Chris. She didn't get herself pregnant, did she? If I hadn't been too lazy to go get a condom she wouldn't be pregnant. Besides, this is really none of your business. You can either accept my decision, and treat Laura with respect, or you can stay the hell away from both of us. And Joey, you have absolutely no right to be lecturing me about being trapped by a girl."

Lance turned abruptly and stormed out of the kitchen. He entered the room where he had left Laura, and slowly opened the door stepping inside. Laura looked up as she heard the door open. Lance took a couple of deep breaths before he walked over to the side of the bed. He gently moved his thumb over Laura's cheek, wiping away her tears. "Are you ready to go now?"

"Yeah, I'm ready to go." She gave him a small smile.

"Then let's get outta here." He said, helping her up from the bed.

Lance and Laura spent the next few days finishing the last minute details for the wedding ceremony. It all became a blur and before they knew it the day was upon them.

* * * *

Joey knocked on the door when Laura was getting ready. "Come in." He heard from the other side. Laura was already dressed in her gown and the only one in the room. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" Joey asked.

Laura was already nervous, she wasn't sure she needed to hear any more of Joey's accusations. But he was the best man, so she nodded "For a moment."

"I just want to apologize for what Chris and I said they other night. We had no right to make accusation like that."

Laura stopped for a moment then turned to look at Joey. With tears in her eyes she said "Thank you, that means a lot to me, Joey."

"I just wanted you to know we really didn't think of you like that. I know how unplanned a baby can be."

She laughed a little at Joey's admission. "You guys mean the world to Lance. I just didn't want to be the Yoko Ono that came between you."

"And you obviously mean the world to Lance. Don't worry about the Yoko thing, that's Britney's job." Joey smiled and looked at his shoes before looking back up at her. "By the way you look beautiful."

Laura was absolutely beaming now, the dark cloud having been lifted from over her. "Thanks, Joey. Now get outta here before you make me cry off all this make up."

"No problem, I have to go make sure Lance is ready anyway." He gave her one of his trademark Fatone smiles as he walked out the door. He walked to the other side of the house where Lance as getting ready. Joey opened the door "I got to see Laura, just a moment ago. She is beautiful."

Lance smiled "She is. You know Joey, this is the right thing for me."

"Yeah, I know." he looked down at the floor. "I wanna...I wanna apologize for the other night." Joey looked back at Lance. "We were out of line, and I'm really sorry that Laura had to hear it."

"Thanks," Lance said as he fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, "But you really should be apologizing to Laura. Don't you think?"

"I just did, that's how I got to see her, " Joey smiled.

Lance looked at Joey "Thank you, Joey. She really needed to hear that." He tucked his shirttails into his pants and buttoned them up. His hands were shaking as he reached for his bow tie.

"Here, let me help you with that." Joey took the bow tie from Lance, placing it around his neck and tying it perfectly.

Lance was having second thoughts, but he would never let on. He stomach was tied so tight in knots, he felt like he could lose his breakfast at any moment. Lance said "Thanks Joey, for being here," as he looked in the mirror pulling on his jacket.

"There is no other place I would be." Joey could read the nervousness in Lance's eyes. "It's all going to work out," he said trying to reassure his friend.

Joey's words sent Lance's head spinning in all different directions. He sat down on a chair and put his head in his hands. This is not the way he imagined his wedding day. He wanted to be in love with, not just love the person he would spend the rest of his life with. All of his doubts and fears came crashing to the surface. "I think I'm gonna be sick."

"It's just your nerves, man. Take deep breaths, that always worked for you before we performed."

Following Joey's advice, Lance took several deep breaths. "Yeah, it's just nerves." He said out loud, more to convince himself than any one else. "It's just cold feet, right? Like any other guy who's getting married."

"Right, you are going to see her starting to walk towards you and you'll forget why you were ever nervous in the first place."

Lance smiled at that thought. It's not like he didn't love Laura, because he did. After all, they wouldn't have had sex if they didn't have any feelings for each other. He could make this work. They could be happy, he told himself. "I knew there was a reason I asked you to be my best man. What time is it?" Just then the preacher opened the door to let them know it was time for them to start.

"Deep breaths, just keep taking deep breaths." Joey put his hand on Lance's shoulder as he led them to the backyard. Lance took his place at the makeshift altar in his backyard, and waited.

Lance surveyed the yard, it had been transformed with strings of white lights, flowers, and large candles. He saw his parents sitting in the front row before him. His mother was wiping tears away from her eyes. Lance was lost in his own thoughts as the music started to play. He saw his sister walking down the aisle, she wore a simple red dress and carried three red roses tied with a green ribbon. Once Stacey reached the altar the music changed to the wedding march. Slowly Laura and her father started up the aisle, her dress was an off white in color with an empire waist to hide what little of the baby that was starting to show. It was decorated with a few small beads, but yet still simple in design. Laura’s hair was pulled up into ringlets that were surrounded by her tiara and veil. Lance’s breath caught in his throat as she walked closer to him. Joey was right, she was beautiful.

Once Laura and her father reached the altar the preacher started to speak. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the joining in marriage of Lance and Laura."

Lance couldn't take his eyes off Laura, all the doubt and fear had disappeared. He was looking directly into the eyes of his future, and he liked what he saw. Lance heard the preacher say "If there is anyone who can show just cause why these two individuals should not be joined in marriage, speak now, or forever after hold your peace." He paused a moment before continuing. "Who gives this woman to this man?" "Her mother and I," Laura's father answered. He paused a moment before continuing. "Who gives this woman to this man?"

"Her mother and I," Laura's father answered, then lifted her veil kissing her cheek before sitting next to Laura's mother. Laura moved next to Lance taking his hand.

"James Lance, will you have this woman as your lawful wedded wife, to live together in the estate of matrimony? Will you love her, honor her, comfort her, and keep her in sickness and in health; forsaking all others, be true to her as long as you both shall live?"

Lance listened to the vow he was about to take, realizing he wouldn't be able to fake marriage. This had to be the real thing or nothing at all. He looked over to Laura and settled it in his heart that he would be with her, for the rest of his life. "I will."

Laura Marie, will you have this man as your lawful wedded husband, to live together in the estate of matrimony? Will you love him, honor him, comfort him, and keep him in sickness and in health; forsaking all others, be true to him as long as you both shall live?

Laura's knees started to shake. This is going to be for real, she thought. She was about to be married and start a family. Laura took a deep breath. "I will"

"Behold the symbol of wedlock." The preacher began. "The perfect circle of love, the unbroken union of this man and this woman united here today. May you both remain faithful to this symbol of true love. Please join hands and repeat after me." Laura handed her flowers to Stacy and turned to face Lance. Lance took Laura's ring from Joey, then repeated everything told to him as he placed the ring on her finger.

I, James Lance, take you, Laura Marie, as my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part.

Stacy handed Laura Lance's ring, she repeated everything she was told as she placed the ring on his finger. "I, Laura Marie, take you, James Lance, as my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part."

They both turned back to the preacher as he spoke. "For as much as Lance and Laura have consented together in wedlock, and have witnessed the same before this company of friends and family, and have given and pledged their promises to each other, and have declared the same by giving and receiving a ring, and by joining hands. By the authority vested in me by the State of Mississippi, I pronounce this couple to be husband and wife. Lance you may now kiss your bride."

Lance turned to Laura and looked into her eyes briefly. He lifted his hand and gently placed it on Laura's face before closing his eyes and leaning in to give her a sweet, tender kiss on her lips. Their first kiss shared as husband and wife. He pulled away with tears in his eyes, he whispered "I love you, Laura."

"I love you, Lance," she smiled looking into his eyes.

"It is my pleasure to introduce to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. James Lance Bass." The preacher announced before Lance and Laura began to walk back up the aisle.